EE launches 4G PAYG plan for just £1 a week

Published by Mark King on 03 September 2014. Last updated on 03 September 2014

EE has shaken up the pay as you go (PAYG) mobile phone market by launching a super-fast 4G offering starting from just £1 a week.

The new range of three PAYG packs include the Talk and Text Pack, Data Pack and Everything Pack, with 4G included in all.

They start at £1 for the weekly Data Pack - which includes 100MB worth of data - rising to £10 for the monthly Everything Pack which includes 150 minutes of calls, 500MB of data, and unlimited texts.

However, mobile analysts claimed that £1 data allowance would only be enough to watch a 10-minute film clip.

Depending on the type of pack purchased, each pack must be renewed every week or month - or users lose their allowance of minutes, data and texts.

An EE spokesperson said: "70% of mobile PAYG users spend less than £10 per month, so for the first time across the industry, EE is offering a choice of PAYG packs for just £1 per week, providing increased flexibility to meet customer need.

"EE has put control at the heart of its new range of packs - with customers never able to go over their data allowance. If they do use it up, then they can purchase one of the great value add-ons to extend it as needed."

For the purposes of comparison, the Everything Pack appears to be better value than Three's All-in-One PAYG pack, which only includes 100 minutes and 3,000 texts, though has the same 500MB data allowance. It also appears marginally better value than O2's Big Bundle and Vodafone's Freedom Freebee pack.

However, giffgaff's £10 Goodybag offers twice the number of minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB worth of data, making it better value. But there currently remain no other mobile phone operators offering 4G from £1 a week.

Super-fast gateway

Rob Kerr, mobiles expert at uSwitch.com, said: "Starting at the same price as a scratchcard, EE's new offer could be a gateway to super-fast speeds for those previously put off by pricey 4G packages.

"The basic package with 100MB of data is only enough to stream a 10-minute film clip. But it does give light users a taste of 4G mobile internet, as long as they have a 4G-enabled handset.

"Essentially, EE is deploying tactics to entice PAYG users to make the leap to pay-monthly. And, like pay monthly, these packages do require a bit of a commitment. With a £1 top-up having to be applied every seven days, or lose it after a week, you have to keep track of your minutes, texts and data."